Appearing in ""My Father, My Enemy""
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
- Mr. Marlowe (First appearance; dies)
- Lord Robert Plunder (Only in flashback)
- Golden People
- Quor (First appearance)
- Reptile Men
Races and Species:
- Humans
- Smilodon
- Horses
- Dogs
- Foxes (Mentioned)
- Neanderthals (Mentioned)
- Elephants (Mentioned)
- Golden People
- Reptile Men
Locations:
Items:
- Anti-Metal (Only in flashback)
Synopsis for ""My Father, My Enemy""
Disgusted with the "civilized" practice of Fox Hunting, Ka-Zar, back at his ancestral home in England, decides to ruin the "fun" for his brother and his friends as they begin their quest. Ka-Zar and Zabu seek to warn the prey, but in the process, Zabu startles a horse who throws the rider, Vanessa Marlowe, from off its back. Ka-Zar assists Vanessa but is slapped by his own brother, Edgar, formerly the Plunderer, for causing the injury to Vanessa in the first place. The two argue even through dinner and Vanessa challenges both brothers to act civilized. Edgar appears to agree and takes his brother aside and retells the story of how their father sought out a theorized element with fantastic powers. He reminds Ka-Zar of how he eventually found that element, known as Anti-Metal, in the Savage Land. Both brothers head to the Savage Land, Edgar to steal the only known supply of Anti-Metal and Kazar to defend it. As they arrive, they discover an alien, Quor, is acting as a god to a race of Lizard Men in order to harvest all of the Anti-Metal for himself. Ka-Zar battles Quor and defeats him and his Lizard Legion. Vanessa's father, who traveled to the Savage Land with Vanessa, is killed in the battle and with his dying breath scratches a note in the sand that Ka-Zar's father was not evil as The Plunderer had always told him. Edgar sees the note and wipes it out with his foot. Ka-Zar then finds Mr. Marlowe and carries him off, not knowing what he would have had him know.
Appearing in "The Vulture"
Young Men #26
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- The Vulture (Isidoro Scarlotti) (First appearance)
Races and Species:
Synopsis for "The Vulture"
Young Men #26
Having learned the location of the infamous Nelson gang, the Human Torch and Toro bust into it to find it like they have found many other criminal hideouts: empty and unused in a long time. They report back to Chief Wilson and are introduced to Dr. Scarlotti a famous atomic scientist. They are informed that two months ago the plans to a more powerful atomic bomb were stolen. Knowing that they are still in the country somewhere, the Chief asks the Torch and Toro to help locate them. The Torch notes that the disappearance of the various crime bosses also started two months ago and wonders if the two incidents are related. Wilson tells the two flaming heroes to go an question uranium inspectors in the country to see if any of them have sold to any private parties.
After saying goodbye to the chief's daughter Mary, the Torch and Toro fly to Alaska. There they notice that they are being followed by an airplane with a vulture's claw as an insignia. Unable to bring it down over the city, the Torch and Toro force it over the country side and blast the plane out of the sky with fireballs. Going to the cabin of a uranium prospector, the Torch and Toro catch him in the middle of a transaction with a shady looking character. When the Torch asks the man why he is buying uranium, he tries to pull a gun and the Torch is forced to kill him. When Toro searches the dead man's body he finds a note with the same emblem as on the plane that followed them earlier and the words the Vulture written on it. Suddenly, the Torch recalls hearing of a criminal called the Vulture, a masked man who is the czar of an international criminal organization. The duo then head back to New York to see if they can pick up the trail of the Vulture and the missing criminals.
Meanwhile, from his secret hideout in the New Mexico desert, the Vulture and his criminal empire are hard at work constructing super atomic bombs which they will use to hold the world ransom. In order to prevent the Human Torch and Toro from interfering with his plans the Vulture has built robot duplicates of the heroes that he has programmed to commit crimes and murders in order to discredit the two heroes and turn the authorities against them. When the Torch and Toro arrive at Chief Wilson's office they learn that the Vulture has kidnapped Wilson's daughter Mary and their plane was spotted heading for New Mexico. The two flaming heroes track down the plan and follow it to the Vulture's hideout. Melting through the walls they are confronted by the Vulture who traps them with a wall of radiation that deflects their fire powers. The Vulture then leaves Mary to watch them die. However, while the radiation affects Toro, the Torch's android body absorbs it making him stronger. He uses this strength to pull himself and Toro through the barrier.
After getting Mary to safety, the Torch and Toro return to Chief Wilson's office where their robotic duplicates have come to kill the Chief. They destroy the robots and learn of the Vulture's demand for the world's governments to surrender. The rush back to the Vulture's base in New Mexico where they trash his equipment. The Vulture then reveals that he is Dr. Scarlotti to them and then traps them in the base which begins to fill with acid, threatening to smother their flame. The Vulture flees telling them that he has set the atomic pile in his base to explode. However, the Torch and Toro manage to burn their way free just as the pile explodes. In the aftermath, the Torch believes that this is not the last they have heard of the Vulture.
Appearing in "Murder By Magic"
Astonishing #6
Featured Characters:
- Marvel Boy (Robert Grayson)
Supporting Characters:
- Matthew Grayson
- Professor Simon Sigmund (First appearance)
Antagonists:
- Pasha Emit Erut-If (First appearance)
- Eve Namada (First appearance)
Other Characters:
- Joe
Races and Species:
Locations:
Vehicles:
Synopsis for "Murder By Magic"
Astonishing #6
On the planet Uranus, Matthew Grayson meets with his son Marvel Boy. He tells him of reports he has heard from Earth about a magician who has been making it big in the theater scene who has been baffling experts with his feats of magic. Seeking to learn more, Grayson sends Marvel Boy to Earth to investigate to see if the magicians abilities could be of assistance to universal science. Marvel Boy flies his rocket to Earth to meet with a New York scientist named Professor Simon Sigmund when he arrives.
Meeting with Sigmund, the two men go to see the latest show of the magician named Pasha Emit Erut-Uf. The two watch as Pasha and his assistant Eve Namada put on their magic show. Pasha amazes the audience when he makes Eve float into the air. Calling from an audience member, Marvel Boy goes up and waves a hoop around the girl to show that there are no ropes used to levitate the girl. The next trick, Pasha has Marvel Boy assist in tying Eve up and suspending her into the air. The girl suddenly vanishes and reappears free from her bonds. After the show the scientist is convinced that the pair use real magic, and Marvel Boy is convinced to speak with them the next day.
However the next morning when Marvel Boy pays a visit to the theater he learns from Eve that Pasha has gone missing and that his hotel room was in shambles. Marvel Boy agrees to do what he can to help save Pasha. On his way out he buys a newspaper and reads a story about how the First National Bank was robbed when someone managed to pick the time lock on the vault. Meanwhile, at a criminal hideout, a gang of crooks have kidnapped Pasha and forced him to help them rob the bank.
Having suspected this, Marvel Boy meets with police and comes up with a plan to catch the crooks. Disguising himself as Pasha, Marvel Boy puts on the next performance of the magician. When some of the crooks who kidnapped sees the phony Pasha they assume that the real magician managed to break out of their hideout. They kidnap the phony unaware that the police are trying to find them. When they arrive at the hideout, the mobsters realize that the place is too quiet. They go inside alone leaving the phony Pasha in the car. Inside they find that their minions are dead.
Marvel Boy is shocked when suddenly the real Pasha appears in the car and explains that he is aware of Marvel Boy's plan and tells him that he has come up with one of his own. The two return to the theater and another show is put on. The mobsters go to the show in order to eliminate Pasha for escaping from them. However, during the show Pasha uses his magic powers to blow apart all the mobsters limbs limbs, killing them bloodlessly. Shocked Marvel Boy tells Pasha that that he will be arrested for manslaughter, but Pasha insists that he acted in self-defense. Before the police can arrest Pasha, he and his assistant tell the authorities that they cannot hold him and that they will leave, saying they may be back in a few hundred years and suddenly vanish.
The police are baffled, but Marvel Boy explains that the secret behind Pasha and his assistant lie in their names, and suggest that perhaps the entire thing never happened at all.
Appearing in "Modred and the Gypsies"
Black Knight #3
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Mordred
- Unnamed Gypsy Master
- Numerous hired gypsies
Other Characters:
- Numerous unnamed gypsies
- Thunder
Races and Species:
Locations:
Items:
Synopsis for "Modred and the Gypsies"
Black Knight #3
With King Arthur's birthday celebrations under way, the King and his Knights of the Round Table celebrate in a private ceremony. However, Sir Galahad takes issue with the cowardly Sir Percy being present among them, but King Arthur tells his knight to be more tolerant to one of loyal blood, even if he be a coward.
Soon a band of gypsies arrive at the castle with a number of captured lions which are to be released in the area for King Arthur to hunt as part of his birthday celebrations. When Sir Percy tries to get Lady Rosamund to smile upon him, she tells him that he need only hunt a lion for her and she will, a request Percy politely declines. Sir Percy then pays a visit to Merlin who shows him a troubling scene in his crystal ball: That Mordred is plotting against the King once more. Mordred has paid the leader of the gypsies to hide a pack of lions in a cave and unleash them against Arthur later on hoping to overwhelm him.
Percy changes into the Black Knight and rides out after King Arthur and his knights as the hunt begins. The Knight finds a disguised Mordred among the gypsies who knock King Arthur off his horse with a bolt and unleashes the lions upon him. The Black Knight is able to fight off the lions and save the King's life and gives Mordred and his gypsy allies a thrashing. Later at the castle, having doffed his disguise, Mordred tells King Arthur a lame story of how he fell off his horse during the lion hunt all the while Sir Percy sings a song about Mordred's "accident".
Appearing in "The Alien Invasion That Wasn't"
Young Men #26
Featured Characters:
Antagonists:
- Communist agents
Races and Species:
Synopsis for "The Alien Invasion That Wasn't"
Young Men #26
The Sub-Mariner and Betty Dean are returning to the United States in a plane after a trip to Europe during a heavy storm. Suddenly their plane is struck by a strange magnetic beam and it crash lands in the ocean. Everyone abandons the plan and they are rescued by what appears to be aliens from outer space.
Namor, Betty and the other passengers are taken to an island and are brought to the leader of the aliens. He explains that he is taking them all prisoner in order to stop Earths atomic warfare research and is willing to execute them all in order to force the United States to stop their experiments.
They are all locked in cells, and later that night the Sub-Mariner ask their guard for a glass of water. Revitalizing his strength with the life giving water, the Sub-Mariner breaks out of his cell and knocks out the guard. He then tells Betty that he's going back to their plane to try and get the radio to call for help. Sneaking to the plane, Namor finds that the radio equipment has been smashed. He is found by a guard but knocks him out as well. Searching the craft, he finds the portable radio unit has not been destroyed and rushes it back to Betty, telling her to hide it and follow his plan.
Namor then escapes the island and swims back to New York where he meets with Navy officials and they make a plan to free the hostages, they radio this plan to Betty. The next day, when the United States refuses the aliens demands, their leader decides to execute all of his prisoners. Betty then tells them that the United States won't do anything unless they threaten the lives of politicians and diplomats and informs them that a plane carrying them will be passing over their airspace tonight.
That night the aliens use their magnetic beam to pull the plane out of the sky, however they find that it is full of Navy frog men and the Sub-Mariner who put up a fight. Namor fights his way to shore where he subdues the leader of the "aliens" removing his mask to reveal that he is not an alien at all, but a communist agent. In the aftermath, Namor tells Betty that he suspected the "aliens" were fakes when the only country they were threatening was the United States, if they were really interested in stopping nuclear war on Earth, they would have also threatened Russia and England as well.
Notes
- The original title for "Verdict by Magic" was "Murder by Magic".
- The original title for "The Knight and the Gypsies" was "Modred and the Gypsies".
Trivia
- In "The Vulture", Betty is mistakenly called Mary.
